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Books From Around the World (YA): North and Central AmericaUnpublished

It’s often interesting to get a different perspective on the world. Here are some books set in some far-flung places – and some places close to home – grouped by continent/large body of water with islands in it. The books on this list are (mostly) written by authors from the countries they are about, and in many cases have been translated into English from their mother tongues (the book we’ve chosen for Madagascar, Return to the enchanted island by Johary Ravaloson, is only the second book to have ever been translated from Malagasy into English!).

Not all of the books are in the Young Adult collection, but we’ve tried to make sure that they all at least feature kids or teens in prominent places in the story. Our eventual goal is to have at least one book for every country in the world! Help us out by sending in recommendations if you’ve found one we’ve missed!

This list contains books written by authors from North and Central America, including the Caribbean. Check out our lists for authors from Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and South America for even more recommendations!

Updated June 19, 2024

Wellington City LibrariesYouth team at Wellington City Libraries

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The marrow thieves

Dimaline, Cherie

Paper Book

Winner of the 2017 Governor General's Literary Award (Young People's Literature - Text) Winner of the 2017 Kirkus PrizeWinner of the 2018 Sunburst Award Winner of the 2018 Amy Mathers Teen Book Award Winner of the 2018 Burt Award for First Nations, Inuit...

Canada | Canadian author (Metis)

Firekeeper's daughter

Boulley, Angeline

Paper Book

A PRINTZ MEDAL WINNER! A MORRIS AWARD WINNER! AN AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH LITERATURE AWARD YA HONOR BOOK! A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller Soon to be adapted at Netflix...

United States of America | American author (Ojibwe)

Bad Cree : a novel

Johns, Jessica

Paper Book

In this gripping, horror-laced debut, a young Cree woman's dreams lead her on a perilous journey of self-discovery that ultimately forces her to confront the toll of a legacy of violence on her family, her community and the land they call home. "A mystery and a horror story about...

Canada | Canadian author (Cree)

How the one-armed sister sweeps her house : a novel

Jones, Cherie

Paper Book

In the tradition of Zadie Smith and Marlon James, a brilliant Caribbean writer delivers a powerful story about four people each desperate to escape their legacy of violence in a so-called "paradise." In Baxter's Beach, Barbados, Lala's grandmother Wilma tells the story of the one-armed...

Barbados | Barbadian author

Dreaming in Cuban : a novel

García, Cristina 1958-

Paper Book

"Impressive . . . [Cristina García's] story is about three generations of Cuban women and their separate responses to the revolution. Her special feat is to tell it in a style as warm and gentle as the 'sustaining aromas of vanilla and almond,' as rhythmic as the music of Beny Moré."--Time...

Cuba | Cuban-American author

Don't date Rosa Santos

Moreno, Nina (Young adult fiction writer)

Paper Book

For fans of Gilmore Girls and To All the Boys I've Loved Before, this effervescent love story from debut author Nina Moreno will sweep you away. Rosa Santos is cursed by the sea--at least, that's what they say. Dating her is bad news, especially if you...

Cuba | Cuban-American author

How the García girls lost their accents

Alvarez, Julia.

Paper Book

Uprooted from their family home in the Dominican Republic, the four Garcia sisters-Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofia-arrive in New York City in 1960 to find a life far different from the genteel existence of maids, manicures, and extended family they left behind. What they have lost-and what they...

Dominican Republic | Dominican-American author

The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian

Alexie, Sherman 1966-

Paper Book

A New York Times bestseller--over one million copies sold! A National Book Award winner A Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner Bestselling and award winning author Sherman Alexie tells the hearbreaking yet funny story about a boy...

United States of America | American author (Spokane)

Untwine : a novel

Danticat, Edwidge

Paper Book

A haunting and mesmerizing story about sisterhood, family, love, and loss by literary luminary Edwidge Danticat.Giselle Boyer and her identical twin, Isabelle, are as close as sisters can be, even as their family seems to be unraveling. Then the Boyers have a tragic encounter that will shatter...

Haiti | Haitian author

The field guide to the North American teenager

Philippe, Ben

Paper Book

William C. Morris YA Debut Award Winner! A hilarious YA contemporary realistic novel about a witty Black French Canadian teen who moves to Austin, Texas, and experiences the joys, clichés, and awkward humiliations of the American high school experience--including...

Haiti/Canada/USA | Haitian-Canadian author

American Street

Zoboi, Ibi Aanu

Paper Book

A National Book Award Finalist with five starred reviews and multiple awards! A New York Times Notable Book * A Time Magazine Best YA Book Of All Time* Publishers Weekly Flying Start * Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year * ALA ...

Haiti | Haitian author

Hearts unbroken

Smith, Cynthia Leitich

Paper Book

Winner of an American Indian Youth Literature Award New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith turns to realistic fiction with the thoughtful story of a Native teen navigating the complicated, confusing waters of high school -- and first love. ...

United States of America | American author (Muscogee Creek)

The house on Mango Street

Cisneros, Sandra

Paper Book

The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become. Told in a series of vignettes-sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous-Sandra Cisneros' masterpiece is a classic story...

Mexico | Mexican-American author

Sia Martinez and the moonlit beginning of everything

Vasquez Gilliland, Raquel

Paper Book

"In a world where we are so often dividing ourselves into us and them, this book feels like a kind of magic, celebrating all beliefs, ethnicities, and unknowns." --The New York Times Book Review Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe meets Roswell...

Mexico | Mexican-American author

Dominicana

Cruz, Angie

Paper Book

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK Shortlisted for the 2020 Women's Prize for Fiction "Through a novel with so much depth, beauty, and grace, we, like Ana, are forever changed." --Jacqueline Woodson, Vanity Fair "Gorgeous writing,...

Dominican Republic | Dominican-American author

The book of unknown Americans

Henri?quez, Cristina

Paper Book

"A triumph of storytelling. Henríquez pulls us into the lives of her characters with such mastery that we hang on to them just as fiercely as they hang on to one another and their dreams. This passionate, powerful novel will stay with you long after you've turned the final page." --Ben Fountain,...

Panama | Panamanian-American author

River sing me home

Shearer, Eleanor

Paper Book

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK * This beautiful, page-turning and redemptive story of a mother's gripping journey across the Caribbean to find her stolen children and piece her family back together is a "celebration of motherhood and female resilience" (The Observer). ...

Barbados | Caribbean-British author; ancestor of Windrush generation immigrants

If I ever get out of here

Gansworth, Eric

Paper Book

Now in paperback: The debut novel Laurie Halse Anderson praised for "fearlessly laying down the truth" about friendship, poverty, and the joys of rock 'n' roll.Lewis "Shoe" Blake is used to the joys and difficulties of life on the Tuscarora Indian reservation in 1975: the joking, the Fireball games,...

United States of America | American author (Onondaga)

Gabi, a girl in pieces

Quintero, Isabel

Paper Book

In this groundbreaking William C. Morris Award winner for a YA debut, Gabi's life is a mess--her family, her friends, her attempts at a love life--but writing helps, especially since it turns out she's pretty good at poetry. Gabi Hernandez chronicles her last year of high school in...

United States of America | Mexican-American author

Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe

Sáenz, Benjamin Alire

Paper Book

Now a major motion picture starring Max Pelayo, Reese Gonzales, and Eva Longoria! A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) This Printz Honor Book is a "tender, honest exploration of identity" (Publishers Weekly) that distills lyrical truths about...

United States of America | Mexican-American author

Clap when you land

Acevedo, Elizabeth

Paper Book

In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives. Camino Rios lives for the...

Dominican Republic | Dominican-American author

Love is a revolution

Watson, Rene?e

Paper Book

From New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Renée Watson comes a love story about love-not only in a romantic relationship but also in how a girl finds herself and falls in love with who she really is. When Nala Robertson reluctantly agrees to attend an...

United States of America | Jamaican-American author

The grief keeper

Villasante, Alexandra

Paper Book

This stunning YA debut is a timely and heartfelt speculative narrative about healing, faith, and freedom. Seventeen-year-old Marisol has always dreamed of being American, learning what Americans and the US are like from television and Mrs. Rosen, an elderly expat who had employed...

El Salvador | Uruguayan-American author

Elatsoe

Little Badger, Darcie

Paper Book

Locus Award Winner--Best First Novel A National Indie Bestseller Nebula Award Finalist Lodestar Award Finalist Ignyte Award Finalist TIME's Best 100 Fantasy Books of All Time NPR Best of the Year Booklist's...

United States of America | American author (Lipan Apache)

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Books From Around the World (YA): North and Central AmericaUnpublishedShare

Books From Around the World (YA): North and Central AmericaUnpublished